


"That's how we're going to win...."

by cravetherose



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, In Memory of Carrie Fisher, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Post-War, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cravetherose/pseuds/cravetherose
Summary: Rose's fingers flew up unconsciously to Paige's pendant, feeling the Haysian ore already warm against her fingers, the one tangible thing left of her sister and their parents: her daily memorial to their loss, and their love. She swallowed hard, and said, "Leia would say, 'Everything we need -- ' ""' -- Is right here,'" Connix finished with her.
Relationships: Kaydel Ko Connix/Rose Tico
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	"That's how we're going to win...."

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubynye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/gifts).



Rose's ears were still ringing as she helped Connix off the transport craft, and it felt like her bones were ringing too, after the terrifying fight and then flight on Exegol, their last-minute victory and then the hard journey home. Everyone had been exhausted, and the battle fever had begun wearing off: some people began sobbing, some couldn't stop laughing, nearly everyone was injured, some fatally. Rose almost felt like she'd left some small part of her own soul on the giant death-dealing capital ship, to crash down with it onto that cold world of living death and evil spirits. She held Connix a little closer, turning in to her solid warmth the way she'd used to comfort herself and Paige with each others' presence. "I can walk -- " Connix protested, but she was limping badly even with her left arm over Rose's shoulders, her right hand clasped in Rose's left in front of them as a brace.

"No you can't. Come on." Rose tightened her grip. She wasn't too badly hurt, but every inch of her ached, and she needed to focus on settling Connix safely down somewhere as her own kind of support. Her head throbbed and one shoulder didn't hurt exactly, but every time it jarred even slightly she had to swallow to keep down the feeling of being sick, and she knew that was a bad sign. The relatively flat cleared ground of the Klosslands used as a landing strip in front of the giant natural limestone cave that served as base was a mob scene: packed with ships of every imaginable size and shape. There were Resistance fighters trying to find the other survivors and the ones they'd left behind here, newcomers who had answered Lando's call and followed the fleet to offer more help or claim a share of the glory, humans and aliens, civilians and soldiers, all of them joined together in mingled loss, grief, triumph, joy -- the mixed draught of victory.

Rose slipped on an especially damp patch of moss and swore. Leia had seen Ajan Kloss, where she'd trained as a Jedi after the Battle of Endor, as a spiritual as much as a physical and military retreat. Although there were no large predators, the jungle moon resonated with life, from the thick broadleaf forests to the overgrown cliffs and valleys -- if you weren't careful, you could find yourself plunging through nets of branches over steep hills or cliff-edges, or down into deep bowls of grass and even standing pools -- and dozens and dozens of insect species (Rose swore again and let go of Connix's hand briefly to slap her own neck), who feasted happily on the new buffet of diverse species who now made up what was left of the Resistance. Poe said it reminded him of Yavin 4. Rey said the Force poured through the environmental richness, like water. Rose had put up with the humid atmosphere, so full of water you could taste it, that meant the Resistance techs had to work longer hours to make sure the last of their precious electronics didn't short out or quickly rust from all the moisture, or jam up with the particulate leaf matter, tiny insects and giant lumps of alien pollen all hanging constantly in the air. Now, she felt that she could nearly cry at the sight of the dim gold sunlight, intense but almost never direct, dancing along the edges of the trees and leaves and making the edges of Connix's disheveled hair glow. Just the sight of the crowd parting to reveal an unoccupied long fallen treetrunk, not too far away but out of the worst crush, lit up the center of her chest with warm relief, as if she were coming within sight of home. She dragged Connix over to it and made her sit down first, keeping the weight off her bloody leg, and Rose abruptly lost control of her own legs and landed heavily beside her, Connix's arm still around her shoulders. But the other woman didn't seem to mind.

Rose's own feet ached and she caught herself thinking that she'd better not take her boots off now, as much as they hurt, or she might not be able to get them on later when she needed -- but she wouldn't need to, none of them would, the war was _over._ That thought was still dizzying. She pried at straps and bent fingernails back on buckles and finally vengefully pulled them off, although she set them neatly beside her on the log out of the way, up off the damp ground; it would take a long time to get out of the habits of automatically saving and scraping, if she ever could. She glanced at the woman beside her. Connix still looked pale and drawn, her usually perfect duty braids pulled down around her face, tangled and dirty. But she also looked lit up with the sun, with a kind of lovely peaceful delight, as she rested next to Rose and gazed around at everyone milling all about them. Rose followed her gaze and saw Finn, Poe and Rey clutching each other, nearly breaking into sobs as they clung together for a long moment. Then Poe staggered, Finn caught him and Rey grabbed both their hands and started off in the direction of the cave -- Rose guessed she was taking them to the makeshift barracks set up in Leia's old command ship, in the middle of the giant bare space. Rey looked like a tug determinedly towing two fighters toward a floating dock, and Rose smiled. She glanced again at Connix, who was smiling too.

Automatically, she began thinking of the needs of her injured friend, the same way she would naturally offer her cot to someone swaying with exhaustion, or part of her food ration to a refugee's hungry child -- was there a medic around? Connix didn't seem to be suffering from rapid blood loss or a broken bone, but she needed rest, warmth, at least a blanket (Rose started taking off her jacket, wincing with the effort), hydration -- Rose stopped short, thinking of how Leia would have been personally handing around dozens of cups of scalding hot, shockingly sweet tea, with a shot of something stronger in it for the older fighters. Her eyes stung and her throat hurt, closing up like a fist. She cleared it roughly and said, "I'll get you some -- " just as Connix choked out, "I was just thinking, Leia would make us some Gatalentan tea," and let out one harsh sob, like a soldier trying not to break down in tears.

Rose felt like crying herself, and knew she couldn't, not now. "I'll get you some," she promised, feeling exhaustion rise even just speaking the words, and started to reach for her boots and get up. "Let's get you in -- " But Connix resisted, leaning back and letting her dead weight pull Rose back down too. She shook her head, the sunlight behind her gold hair now, lighting it up to the tips and making her face hard to read. "What about _you,_ Rose?" she said quietly.

"What?" Rose was aware that she was damp with humidity and sweat, that her pants were wet to the knee, her hair was coming down too, and she was suddenly uncomfortably hot. Connix's hand was on her shoulder, and her face was now so close to Rose's that Rose could see her expression again, her large brown eyes searching Rose's, serious with a hint of something else. Their bodies were pressed close together from hip to thigh to knee, and Rose was aware they were breathing in time, a little more quickly than before. Connix's fingers fluttered on Rose's shoulder, as if she wanted to lift them higher, to touch Rose's face, and Rose had to resist the urge to crush Connix's hand in her own and bring it to her mouth.

"Don't you -- don't _you_ need anything, Rose?" Connix didn't sound self-conscious or even that flirtatious, just openly wondering, as if she really wanted to know. It was almost too much for Rose to take in: she had already endured Leia's death, everyone had thought Rey was dead too, she had thought Finn would die in front of her eyes on the _Steadfast_ and that Connix and Kin would die there with her too -- and now, not only had they won, not only were she and Finn and Poe and Rey, and Connix and Kin, all right, too, but now there was also, opening like the petals of a flower, this possibility....The war that had shaped her life and ended her sister's had also brought her and Connix together, had carried them here to this golden moment.

Rose's fingers flew up unconsciously to Paige's pendant, feeling the Haysian ore already warm against her fingers, the one tangible thing left of her sister and their parents: her daily memorial to their loss, and their love. She swallowed hard, and said, "Leia would say, 'Everything we need -- ' "

"' -- Is right here,'" Connix finished with her. She leaned forward and kissed Rose. Rose moved forward too, so their mouths bumped together hard and she felt the pressure of Connix's teeth through her lip, and they both laughed a little, their faces still close. Connix reached up and touched not Rose's face, but the hand holding Paige's pendant, and curled her fingers slowly around Rose's so they were both holding it. Rose kissed her, tasting something sweet and good under all the layers of tears and grime and blood, and then surprised Connix by quickly kissing her again, harder, and catching Connix's lower lip between her own teeth, this time on purpose. She felt Connix gasp against her, they were so close, and raised her other hand to the back of Connix's neck, sliding her fingers gently through the tangles, to take advantage of that opened mouth. As their tongues touched, so gently at first, she heard what sounded like fireworks (probably some fools setting off stored ammo, or firing far up into the trees) and distant cheers coming up from the cave, echoing and reverberating -- news must be coming in to the command center, of other victories: now the celebrations were truly beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> I got worldbuilding details for the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss from _The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary._ Leia's Gatalentan tea is from _Resistance Reborn_ by Rebecca Roanhorse.
> 
> This fic is dedicated to the memory of Carrie Fisher.


End file.
